Washington (December 19, 2013) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, released the following statement after Target Brands Inc. confirmed upwards of 40 million credit and debit cards may have been impacted by a data breach affecting shoppers between November 27-December 15. 

 

“Target shoppers should not have targets on their backs for data thieves as they use their credit cards to shop during this holiday season. Black Friday shopping should not cause a black mark on consumers’ credit rating or bank account.  We need to quickly uncover the extent of the harm suffered by Target customers from this massive data breach and fix the security weaknesses exploited by these fraudsters prowling for customers’ sensitive information. I am concerned about the risk of identity theft and other fraud that could be caused by the release of this information. Target should explain what the company is doing to fix the problems and assist consumers whose data was exposed.”